1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic transmission, and, more particularly, to an automatic transmission including a manual control lever.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an automatic transmission is a device that automatically performs a gear-shifting operation to change a rotating force transmitted from an engine and transmit the changed rotating force to drive wheels according to a gear-shifting pattern. The automatic transmission includes a torque converter for transmitting a driving force from the engine to an inlet shaft of the transmission, a planetary gear for changing the driving force of the engine depending upon the travel state of a vehicle, and a clutch and a brake for interrupting the driving force of the engine transmitted to the planetary gear.
More specifically, a conventional automatic transmission includes: a gear lever mounted at the interior of a vehicle for allowing a driver of the vehicle to directly perform a gear-shifting operation a manual control lever connected to the gear lever via a gear cable, and an inhibitor switch at which the manual control lever is mounted. The inhibitor switch transmits a signal generated based on the position change of the manual control lever to a gear-shifting control unit. The inhibitor switch is fixed to a transmission case by means of fixing bolts.
The assembly of a manual control lever of a conventional automatic transmission is generally a complex and time consuming operation. For example, it is required to rotate the inhibitor switch the predetermined angle in order to align the inhibitor switch with the manual control lever. When the inhibitor switch is rotated, however, interference between the inhibitor switch and other components occurs. For this reason, the shape and the size of the inhibitor switch are restricted.
Furthermore, it is required that the connection holes of the inhibitor switch be extended a predetermined length in the shape of a slot so as to rotate the inhibitor switch. As a result, interference between the connection parts of the inhibitor switch and other components may occur.